H – garyrice.co.uk

Copper Sulphate Crystal

Today I have decided to end my crystal growing project with H and Tbone.

I had ordered 5KG of Copper Sulphate some 7 or so years ago and never got round to growing anything more than a very small seed crystal, mainly because the boys lost interest very quickly!!

But over the summer holiday i decided to give it another try. This time i spent just over 2 weeks on it, ending up with me using all 10kg of copper sulphate and running out of containers big enough to put it in.

I don’t have a laboratory in my house and it gets to a point where heating up 10 plus litres of copper sulphate solution takes far too long and becomes very complicated.

So 10KG / £60 of copper sulphate later, we have ourselves a 4KG crystal to show off – as you can see below.

Rex gets a second camera

Today I installed the second IP Camera in with Rex. As she is in a bigger vivarium now one camera doesn’t cover it.

As per normal with trying to fit things into places where they normally don’t go it was a hell of a job. I had to bodge a circuit board on a metal bracket held on with Velcro fixings!

For the love of god, why is nothing ever bloody simple?

At least they are in and working wirelessly, I just need to get some connectors and make up a longer cable so I can mount the main circuit board on the back of the viv.

Have a look at Rex and the second camera at http://www.rexcam.co.uk

Rex has a new vivarium

Today was the day that me and H moved Rex into her new vivarium.

It was also the day that I changed the god awful Axis IP Camera in with her to something that was a lot better and cheaper! You would think that an expensive make of IP Camera such as Axis would be top quality, but as I found out I was wrong.
So, like Yodacam, I purchased some cheap IP Cameras – Tenvis Mini319w. Yodacam`s Orite IP Cameras have lasted well over 10 years with no problems, except 1 blown power supply. Hopefully the Mini319w IP Cameras will last just as well.

After spending ages taking the Mini319w apart and fixing it to a custom bracket in the top of Rex`s new vivarium, it was ready to go. As it is wireless it saved on adding more structured cabling or extra switches to my network infrastructure!

Along with new IP camera was a new moss hut and hide as Rex has out grown her current ones.

We left her to explore for a few hours and then fed her a large rat as it was feeding time. That was pounced on and swallowed with no problems.

Rex`s new vivarium	Rex`s new vivarium
Rex`s new vivarium	Rex`s new vivarium

This new vivarium should see her for a good few years and with the addition of a few branches and decoration we hope to see her doing a bit more.

Rex – the new pet

Today we went to get H his birthday present from one of his Granddad’s.

He asked him if he could have a snake, and granddad was only too willing to get him one. Unfortunately granddad could not be with us when we went to get it, and needless to say he wasn’t there either to pay!

So, we had a look at a few snakes and settled for a nice quiet corn snake that H was able to pick up and hold with no real issues, I didn’t see the point getting one that he couldn’t hold or one that was too big, as it might be a bit daunting for his to start with.

We picked a nice stylish vivarium for her and a few things to go in it along with some fluffs for her to eat. All that set me back just over £180!! Some contrast to when we got Yoda all those years back as a rescue case from the RSPCA man that we knew.

We get her home and set everything up in H`s bedroom, laying down the law about what he can and can’t do. He decided to call her Rex, after Commander Rex out of Start Wars! I guess we need to get her sexed as soon and she is old enough to make she we have the right name for her – but then I guess once we have called her something we can’t go back on it.

I can see that Rex is going to be interesting, the wife won’t go anywhere near her or help us with her, so I guess it’s me and H doing it all.